Can you save money with a used tank?

[Corigan]

Also remember that the tanks may need to get tumbled. Also remember if you are buying valves with the tanks that the valves could be completely shot. You could end up having to pay for a valve rebuild as well. I got burned on a few used tanks and wish I would have just bought new. YMMV.

Matt

 

[SNAPDRAGON]

Thanks for all the great info. It sounds like a certain amount of caution should be taken be it is not out of the question to get a resonable deal. hope this thread helps out others as well.

 

[LobstaMan]

In general, I feel more comfortable buying a steel tank used as opposed to an AL tank. Steel lasts longer, weights more, etc., but also costs more. Never bought used AL, so I guess it would depend on 'how' used the tank was. An AL tank that's only 2 to 3 years old and is selling for $75 might be a better deal than a used steel of the same age selling for $250. Rent a few steels then rent a couple of ALs and see which you like better. Good luck.

LobstaMan

 

[kidspot]

I picked up 4 used AL80's because the only LDS that would sell new required a purchase of 12 @ $300 each... so even after putting new valves (I wanted the new DIN/Yoke valves) they cost me between $110-$150 each (they were different prices and 2 needed new hydros) The LDS does sell used AL80's around here for $90 - So it all depends on how much they cost where you are at. Btw - air fills if you own your own tank are only $2 over here, so I plan to slowly recoup my cost over the next 2 years... and if I ever decide to go doubles I have 2 tanks that I can simply add an isolator manifold and bands to (I went with modular valves, just in case)

So in my case - yeah it was worth it... is it in yours - can't say, that's a call you need to make.

btw - I really love the convenience of not having to run to the LDS every time I feel like a "spontaneous" dive (like a night dive after they are closed, or for an early morning boat dive, etc..) That in itself made the whole proposition worthwhile to me.

Aloha, Tim

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Whether tank ownership makes sense depends on how many dives per year you do and what you are going to pay for fills. If you are not going to dive much or if air fills cost close to the same as tank rental, it may not make much sense other than for the convenience it offers of having a full tank ready and waiting when you want to go.

In our case we have three divers in the family and we stay on the boat every weekend. It is about a hour round trip from the slip to the LDS for the nearest fill, so it made sense to us to buy enough tanks to get us through a weekend between trips to the LDS. The number of dives we each do on a weekend varies but on average I fill about 15 tanks on Sunday evening.

We currently own 16 generic galvanized steel 72's, and 5 Faber 72's that my wife prefers. All were bought used and we paid $100 for the Fabers with convertible DIN/K valves and an average of about $50 for the steel 72's most of which have been upgraded with 300 bar DIN valves at $20.00 each. So buy purchasing used tanks and waiting for bargains on valves we still have only about about $2100 invested in tanks (including 4 deco bottles). Direct cost of ownership for VIP's and Hydros ($3.50 and $15.00 respectively) for the steel tanks plus 4 AL deco bottles runs right at $200 per year. This would be really steep if we only did 30 dives per year but we do about 300 per year in total so the cost is only $0.67 per dive. Air costs us $50.00 per year as we belong to an air club with a compressor and air bank located at the LDS so it costs us an average of $0.17 per fill, not including O2 for nitrox which is provided by the LDS and runs $5.00 per fill.

So an air dive only costs us an average of $0.84 and Nitrox is still under $6.00. And if We ever get out of diving, we should bea ble to get our 2K back out of the tanks as they will still be worth what we paid for them.

 

[Hoosier]

I am not an experienced dive mania compared to DA Aquamaster’s family. But, when I planed to buy the AL80 tank, as I post earlier, I also did calculate the profits and losses on the option, either rent or buy. The result was to buy the tank.

Assumption:
Tank Unit: two
Used tank price including new VIP: $70 each
New tank price: $140 each
Air fill: $5 each
Tank rental including air: $8 each
Two tanks rental for each dive
A log = one tank

That simple analysis doesn’t cover the interest rate, depreciation rate, and travel cost though. After around 24th~30th log, I can start to save the money compared to rent tank option. If I can’t make at least 25 logs, I should include another annual VIP cost $20 per year though. It will be still saving money over time. But, it is an entirely diffrent story when you compare the option between new and used tanks.

DA Aquamaster,
BTW, I am wondering how the air club ($30/single, $60/family) works. It is only 6 air fills charge. Most LDS in my area always complains they can’t make any profit from air sales. Moreover, 24/7 option is awesome. I think it is another LDS business model.

In addition, there is a technical issue about SP reg. tune up. Please let us have your expertise. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=89886&page=3

my 2 cent.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

A retiring diver donated his 7 SCFM compressor and essentially founded the club. This occured at the same time another diver was opening a dive shop so an agreement was made where the compressor and 4 bottle air bank would be housed in the dive shop and maintained by the shop owner in exchange for the free use of the compressor by the shop. This arrangement provided free space and maintainence for the compressor and saved the LDS some substantial start up costs for the shop.

Rates were initially $20 per diver per year about 15 years ago when it was started and then went to $25 after a few years and recently changed to the current $30 for a single and $50 for a family. The arrangement has been self sustaining and the accumulated funds allowed the purchase of a new 17 cu ft compressor and an expansion of the air bank to 16 cylinders about 5 years ago.

The LDS still gets to use the compressor in exchange for space and maintainence. They charge $4.00 per air fill for non club members which covers their time for maintenence. They also have use of the air for classes etc, without having the expense of buying the compressor. So while they don't really make much money on air sales, and they do make money on the O2 for nitrox fills. Most importantly, the cheap air means there are a lot more local divers who are much more active and buy much more equipment from the the dive shop than they otherwise would. So everybody wins.

The LDS also takes care of training new club members on how to fill their tanks which allows them to access the fill whips from a lock box outside the shop. The LDS also spot checks the tanks for current hydro tests and VIP's and since he does both, he pretty much knows who has and has not brought in their tanks when they pay their dues. If you get caught filling non inspected tanks, your membership rights are revoked.

Many people cringe at the thought of regular divers filling tanks, but so far the system has been accident free and I think the fact that they are standing beside their tanks as they fill them injects an interest in safety into the operation.

Some divers who are not comfortable filling tanks or who do not dive frequently prefer to just pay as they go and buy the air through the shop, which is a needed source of revenue for the shop to compensate them for their space, maintence and training time, so again it works out well for all involved.

 

[murphdivers286]

My wife and I are avid divers. We now have 6 tanks. We bought two new neutrally bouyant tanks with the new din/yoke valve for $140.00 each. They were already O2 ready. We just had to buy the nitrox sticker $6.00. At our LDS it cost $12.00 for vips and $32.00 for hydros w/vip. O2 cleaning is $39.00 for tanks and valves unless the valves need a parts kits which cost about $12.00.

We have 4 of our tanks nitrox ready. So when we look at used tanks, we have to keep in mind the quality of the tank, cost of hydro (if needed), cost of vip (if needed), as cost of O2 cleaning (if needed).

We have bought some nice tanks for $10.00 that were 1995 tanks. It cost us $51.00 for O2 cleaning and $12.00 for visual. That was $73.00 for each tank to be ready to dive. Think about it, $73.00 for used 1995 tanks nitrox ready or $130 for brand new tanks nitrox ready with the new din/yoke valves. That is taking in account the used tanks were only $10.00 each. Imagine if the tanks would have costed $50.00 each. The cost to have the tanks ready would have been $113.00 each.